Started out well enough, delivering a couple of slick and edgy films, but over time Fincher turned into a rather lifeless, stale and ultimately boring Hollywood director. A big name in cinema who doesn't deserve the praise he's been getting.
Movies
Fight Club probably doesn't need an introduction. It's nice to see Fincher's 90s classic still holds up after all these years though. Pitt and Norton are perfect, the pacing is slick, the styling exquisite. But it's the snide comedy that makes this film stand out, much more so than its activist plot.
Love, Death + Robots 3
The third season or anthology (however you want to coin it) in the Love, Death + Robots franchise. This one is famous for Fincher finally directing an episode himself, though his short is completely overshadowed by some of the more adventurous films here, most notably Alberto Mielgo's Jibaro. The anthology starts off with some of the weaker entries, not surprisingly those are also the more humorous ones. Three Robots is the only big failure, so at least it's good to have that out of the way quickly. Fincher's short film lacks originality and a point of view, whereas Kill Team Kill suffers from a terrible art style and a mediocre dub. There are a fair few solid filler shorts on top of that and three real stand-outs. Emily Dean's The Very Pulse of the Machine is a lushly animated sci-fi mood piece, Night of the Mini Dead is as cute as it is hilarious and over-the-top, but it's Mielgo's Jibaro that propels itself as the big star of the film. Many have commented on its incredible animation, but it's the direction itself that is absolutely mindblowing. Pacing, editing, and sound design complement the visuals and combine to make something surreal and indescribable. Just give this man a budget to make a feature-length film.Read all
I feared Fincher's The Game wasn't a film well-suited for a rewatch, and it turns out I was correct. It's a competently made feature, no doubt about it, but so much hinges on the final twist that once you know the outcome (and yes, I remembered), the rest of the film fails to be fully engaging. Nicholas is a wealthy man who has it all. The only thing he lacks in life is joy. On his 48th birthday, his brother comes to visit him and gives him a special gift. It's a voucher for a new company, that specializes in tailor-made entertainment. Nicholas is a bit weary, but then his curiosity gets the better of him. Douglas is decent but nothing spectacular, the same goes for the rest of the cast. The cinematography is proper, the score functional and the plot has enough twists and turns, but they don't matter that much when you know the outcome of the film. The Game is proper, competent cinema, but it starts to crumble after multiple viewings.Read all
David Fincher's latest is a pretty standard thriller, following a serial killer who operates by a very strict set of rules. The film is properly executed and sports some interesting and tense moments, but it fails to delight or surprise. It's the kind of film a director may want to make at the start of his career, not sure what prompted Fincher to take on this project. We meet our killer on a job in Paris, where he explains his daily routine. When the hit finally takes place, he messes up for the first time in his career and finds himself in uncharted territory. He returns to his hideout, where he notices someone has broken into his home. It becomes clear that his error will not be tolerated, and the only way to defend himself is to kill those who are out to kill him. There isn't too much action, instead, Fincher understates the kills and focuses more on the boredom and routine that come with the job. The performances are solid, the styling is polished and the setup is fun enough. The second half of the film is a bit repetitive though and without a proper finale, it kind of fizzles out. Not Fincher's worst film in recent years though.Read all
Mank for Mankiewicz, writer of Citizen Kane and subject of this film. Wank for the incredible circle jerk that Fincher created here. Hollywood's wet dream vision of their own industry, a film that gushes over the larger than life caricatures that prance around the screen and deliver spiffy lines as if the last 80 years never happened. It helps if you've seen Citizen Kane and/or have a little knowledge about Hollywood cinema of the 30s and 40s. What really helps though is if you're the type of person that loves these classics as if they were the best thing that ever happened to cinema. That's the target audience of this film, that's who all the fan service is for. Oldman's overacting is nothing new, the bland gray and white cinematography can't even compete with Kane's, the soundtrack is very present but adds very little and the endless dialogues are so tiring that I'd pretty much had it with this film 30 minutes in. The worst thing Fincher ever made. Successful though, since the Academy wankers gave it an Oscar nomination. Jerks.Read all